Hawne Basin and the Leasowes

Leasowes Lane Dam Today

From Windmill End the canal runs along the side of the Rowley Hills with extensive views over this part of the Black Country. Emerging from the short Gosty Hill Tunnel (no towpath) the canal passes through the former tube works and now ends at Hawne Basin where there are moorings. Originally the canal continued on to Selly Oak passing through the notoriously long and narrow Lapal Tunnel. It was the repeated collapse of sections of this tunnel that resulted in the remainder of the canal being closed in 1917.

A short unnavigable length remains in the Leasowes. The canal embankment here closed off the view from the poet William Shenstone's famous landscaped gardens in 1797. Dudley Council is restoring the grounds but in the meantime there are still many pleasant strolls alongside the streams running through the woods. The more energetic can follow the series of footpaths which lead south to Illey and Lapal (not shown on the map).

The now disused section of the canal that runs from Hawne Basin to Selly Oak is currently the under gradual renovation by the Lapal Canal Trust.